Beyond the Ashes: Frontline Workers Supporting Unhoused Angelenos Impacted By the LA Wildfires

For nearly 50 years, St. Joseph Center has served people affected by poverty and homelessness. When the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires disrupted communities across the region, the crisis created another layer of fear, instability, and uncertainty for people who were already struggling to stay safe.

Responding to Immediate Needs

St. Joseph Center teams responded by helping provide shelter support, food, hygiene items, clothing, showers, emotional support, and connections to essential services. At the Access Center in Venice, staff continued working through power outages and difficult conditions to support clients in need.

“Many people were already experiencing anxiety, and it was our duty to extend beyond providing basic needs to offering emotional support and a sense of safety.”

St. Joseph Center’s SPA 5 Access Center provides individuals experiencing homelessness on the Westside of Los Angeles with access to showers, clothing, hygiene kits, mail services, medical and mental health support, and referrals to other essential services.

A Crisis That Reached Everyone

For outreach staff working near the fires, the disaster was a stark reminder that emergencies affect entire communities, while placing even greater pressure on people without stable housing.

“It was a stark reminder of how interconnected we all are. We all face the same dangers, regardless of our background.”

St. Joseph Center staff and volunteers distributed emergency supplies after the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

Housing, Healing, and Trust

Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis in Los Angeles County, and disasters like wildfires can deepen existing barriers to safety, health, and stability. For people living outside or in unstable housing, smoke, displacement, disrupted services, and emotional trauma can quickly become life-threatening.

Staff emphasized that wildfire response is not only about meeting immediate needs. It is also about building trust, offering consistent support, and helping people connect to longer-term housing and healing.

Rebuilding Together and Ensuring Safety for the Unhoused

Addressing homelessness during emergencies requires an immediate, compassionate, and safety-focused response. St. Joseph Center identified three priorities for supporting unhoused communities during and after wildfires:

1. Conduct regular needs assessments among unhoused communities. Ongoing outreach helps teams understand changing needs, including air quality concerns, displacement, and loss of access to services.
2. Support staff on the frontlines. Frontline teams need clear communication, rest, mental health support, and systems that reduce burnout while maintaining consistent care.
3. Coordinate outreach and emergency supplies. Essential items such as KN95 masks, bottled water, blankets, hygiene kits, and evacuation supplies can help address immediate health and safety concerns.

By prioritizing needs assessments, supporting frontline staff, and delivering coordinated outreach, St. Joseph Center can help address urgent needs during wildfires while continuing the long-term work of housing, healing, and community care.

This past MLK Day of Service, St. Joseph Center honored Dr. King’s legacy by serving meals to neighbors experiencing homelessness at Bread and Roses Café and distributing emergency supplies to people impacted by the wildfires. The day was a reminder that in moments of crisis, compassion and coordinated care are essential to helping communities rebuild.